Delhi Blast: Red Car Suspected to Be Linked to Accused Seized in Faridabad, Officials Say Nabi Had Planned for Dec 6 Strike

PTI, CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI, NOV 12, 2025: A red Ford EcoSport car suspected to be linked to the Delhi Red Fort blast case has been traced and seized in Faridabad district's Khandawali, police said. When asked if the EcoSport car has been traced, a Faridabad police spokesperson confirmed over the phone, saying: "Yes, it has been found in Khandawali village."

Earlier, the Delhi Police sounded an alert across all police stations, posts, and border checkpoints in the national capital to trace the red Ford EcoSport car. The alert was issued after the investigation revealed that other suspects, already connected to the Hyundai i20 used in the explosion, were also in possession of another red-coloured car. At least five teams of Delhi Police were deployed to locate the vehicle, while neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana Police had also been alerted to maintain heightened vigilance and assist in the search.

Sources said the red Ford EcoSport is registered in the name of Dr. Umar UnNabi, who was allegedly driving the car before the blast occurred. The car's registration details were circulated to all border units, and the information has also been shared with the UP and Haryana Police to intensify the search. The vehicle was suspected to have been used by Umar for reconnaissance activities.

Meanwhile, officials said on Wednesday that Dr. Nabi, who was driving the explosives-laden car that blew up near the Red Fort, had planned a powerful blast timed around the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on December 6. The details of the plan have been pieced together after interrogation of the eight people arrested for their alleged links to the interstate ‘white collar’ Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror module centred in Faridabad and conversations with their family, friends, and neighbours, the officials said. Nabi, a 28-year-old doctor based in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district believed to have been killed in the November 10 Red Fort blast in which 12 people lost their lives, has emerged as a key figure in the terror network spanning Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Nabi’s plan fell apart with the arrest of Dr. Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib, who taught at Faridabad’s Al Falah University and from whose room 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was found. It is believed that he panicked and the explosion was accidental, the officials said. According to officials, Nabi was a loner and had an excellent academic record. A trip to Turkey in 2021 with Ganaie, the first of the eight people to be arrested for transformation and radicalisation, they claimed. It is believed the two met overground workers of the banned JeM during the trip. After the trip, a changed Nabi allegedly began accumulating explosives, including ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and sulphur, with Ganaie and started storing them in and around the Al Falah campus where he was pursuing higher studies.

According to officials, he informed the others about his December terror plan and began prepping for it by placing explosives in the Hyundai i20 he was driving on that fateful November 10. It is likely that he was assembling a vehicle-based improvised explosive device (VBIED) after taking lessons on its construction and detonation circuit from open sources available on the internet, officials said. Nabi may have panicked on November 10 when a top Faridabad police officer appeared on television announcing that a terror module had been busted with the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives in Faridabad, officials said. The 2,900 kg included the 360 kg of inflammable material recovered from Ganaie’s rented accommodation.